Triathlon - It HURTS

Smith Gary

Description

In October 2012, over 1000 people applied to take part in a university research study to assess how normal, recreationally active people cope with the demands of training for their first IRON distance triathlon a 3.8km swim, followed by 180km of cycling and finishing with the mere matter of a 42.2km marathon run. This book is a collection of the tales from the people within the team affectionately known as the HURTS team, an acronym for 'Hertfordshire University Research Triathlon Study'. Their individual goal was to inspire others to dream big and to live out those dreams, whether it be a triathlon or not. However, as a cohort, they wished to raise awareness and funds to help find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a debilitating and fatal disorder. Their collective goal was to support Harrison's Fund, set up in 2012 to support breakthrough research leading to positive interventions and ultimately a cure for muscular dystrophy worldwide. Triathlon - It HURTS is an inspiring story of what normal people can achieve when challenged. This book will appeal to those looking to learn more about the successes and harsh realities of training for a triathlon, as well as those who want an uplifting story of human achievement.

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 10 juin 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781784626679
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Triathlon - IT HURTS!
INSPIRING STORIES ON THE PATH TO BECOMING AN IRONMAN
Edited by
Gary Smith Justin Roberts
Copyright 2014 Gary Smith Justin Roberts
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
All characters and events and actions are fictional and no similarities are intended or implied.
All locations are real but addresses are fictional
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ISBN 978 1784626 679
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
To those who played a role in the research, the race, and the incredible love and support of family and friends, we are forever grateful
To all those who hold a dream in their hearts, triathlon or otherwise, this is for you dreams are there to be lived.
To all our co-authors, whose names you will see against every chapter, who selflessly gave up even more of their time, passion and energy to capture their experience in writing, no matter how personal there simply wouldn t be a book to publish!
Foreword
There are two types of people in society, those that accept the status quo (not the 300-year-old rockers) and go through their lives following their chosen path, and those that for whatever reason question the validity of the path. In the following pages you ll read the accounts of normal folk like you and I that stepped off the path and dared to dream. They took their leap of faith and placed themselves firmly in what they hoped would be the safe hands of a university academic who wanted them to push themselves mentally and physically so far out of their comfort zones that they d each need a pair of binoculars to see their regular path.
In this day and age of modern living most of society wouldn t even dream of walking 2.4 miles to buy a pint of milk yet the individuals in the following pages decided to swim that distance in the sea before breakfast. Not content with such a physical challenge they would then jump on a bike and cycle 112 miles, the distance from London to Birmingham. Yes you did indeed read that correctly; think about that the next time you make that same journey on the M6 or by rail. If that doesn t fail to make you think then add in the fact that once they drag their tired bodies off their bikes they then set out to run 26.2 miles, a marathon - a run that is an amazing achievement in itself. So that is a total of 140.6 miles under their own steam; that is the challenge of an iron-distance triathlon. Oh yeah, did I mention that they had to finish it all in under seventeen hours. Now do you see what I mean about the path through their comfort zone being lost in the mists of athletic and mental competition?
Each of the stories contained in this book is filled with a nervous energy and a sense of achievement that the majority of the world will never have the joy of experiencing. I have been lucky to have completed five of these stupidly long races and reading the stories contained within the following pages brought back so many memories of pain, fear, achievement, purpose, desire but above all else fun. To achieve something that seemed impossible and to do it with a smile on your face is simply magical. The stories that follow turn magic into reality, and that is down to the hard work, dedication and sometimes sheer bloody-mindedness of those putting one foot in front of the other nineteen miles into their iron-marathon. However it is often forgotten that endurance racing is actually a team sport, without the support of their friends, training partners and loved ones they wouldn t have even made it to the start line and that shines through in these tales.
More than being an ironman, I am a father. It is my greatest achievement and not a day goes by where I am not thankful for that blessing. I can only imagine the anguish of watching your child battle with an illness and admire the will and courage of a family that fight to change that by seeking a cure. I have never met Alex Smith but his story is one of true inspiration that every parent on the planet should read.
All of this is a timely reminder that as we go about our daily lives we should keep moving forward and each morning when we look in the mirror, smile and tell the face looking back at you that anything is possible. The men and women in this book are living proof of that.
Andy Holgate
Author and Ironman
Table of Contents
Prologue
Section 1 - The Power of Ironman
Chapter 1: Desire - Justin Roberts
Chapter 2: Challenge - Kevin Higby
Chapter 3: Why Not? - Katherine Caris-Harris
Chapter 4: Transition - Tony Dawkins
Chapter 5: Yes Man - Daniel McCluskey
Chapter 6: Perseverance - Rachel Jodie Lahon
Chapter 7: Renaissance - Andrew Cox
Chapter 8: Iron-Research - Craig Suckling, Georgia Peedle, Joe Murphy
Chapter 9: Discovery - Jamie Payne
Section 2 - The Challenge Within
Chapter 10: Disturbia - Jamie Kellett
Chapter 11: Solitude - Peter Benson
Chapter 12: Adversity - Warren Potts
Chapter 13: Journeyman - Chris Petrie
Chapter 14: Practice Makes Perfect - Melanie Miller
Chapter 15: The Unhappiness of Thor - David Wilkey
Chapter 16: Nerves - Jason Baker
Chapter 17: Doubt - Peter Benson
Chapter 18: Gestation - Nicki Combarro
Chapter 19: Inferiority - Gary Smith
Section 3 - A Reason to Shine
Chapter 20: Inspiration - Alex Smith
Chapter 21: Love - Shaun Hunt
Chapter 22: Pursuit - Mark Jex
Chapter 23: Human - Dan Searle
Chapter 24: Denial to Opportunity - Mike Ashton
Chapter 25: Ignorance - Charlie Fuller
Chapter 26: Countdown - Gary Smith
Section 4 - The Wisdom Within
Chapter 27: Wisdom - Justin Roberts
Chapter 28: Tenacity - Kimberley Mangleshot
Chapter 29: Hindsight - Bradley Fleming
Chapter 30: No Rush, Get Around - Jon Townley
Chapter 31 Fun, Commitment and Determination - Eva Fleming
Chapter 32: Pain - Perry Gear
Chapter 33: Expectations: The Hare and the Tortoise - Justin Roberts
About Harrison s Fund
Prologue
Simply WHY?
It s a question we ve been asked time and again, and one probably every endurance athlete has been asked at some stage in his or her career.
Athlete is an interesting concept, but in reality it doesn t matter if you re a pro or an amateur, fast or slow, fat or thin, male or female, old or young, a weekend warrior or a full-time parent. It doesn t matter if you re in musical theatre or a bike messenger, a shark or a bean counter (that s a lawyer or an accountant giving them their official titles) - endurance athletes are similar, but different, in many ways, with two definitive things in common:
Firstly, they all will have been asked Simply WHY? WHY do you? WHY would you? WHY voluntarily put yourself through [ insert insane event name here ]?
Secondly, they will all possess a similarly immense willpower and insatiable appetite for physical suffering, or that s how it at least appears to literally every single non-endurance athlete that we have spoken to.
If you choose to continue reading, which we hope you do, we may answer THE question (or a question you may have), but if we don t you will at least be closer to understanding what exactly makes a normal endurance athlete tick and what it takes to earn the right to call yourself one. And if we don t, perhaps we may encourage you to smile or even laugh at our endeavours, journeys and tales.
But this book is more than just that
This book collates messages from a cross section of recreationally active men and women, aged eighteen to fifty years based in the UK who undertook their own personal adventures to complete their first iron-distance triathlon.
The stage: the 2013 Challenge Barcelona iron-distance triathlon. An iron-distance triathlon is possibly one of the toughest single-day endurance events in the world, based on a gruelling 3.8km sea swim followed by 180 challenging kilometres cycling, and a tiny little 42km run to finish!
The platform: one of the largest, multi-disciplinary research studies undertaken; a study to investigate how recreationally active men and women cope with the demands of a nine-month ultra-endurance training programme. Led by Dr Justin Roberts and the team at the University of Hertfordshire, this ambitious project aimed to recruit, train, monitor, probe and pursue to the finish line the dreams of eighty-five hopefuls in their attempt to become IRONMEN.
Many people could be forgiven for thinking of each leg as an endurance event in its own right and after all, a 3.8km swim is certainly considered to be the gateway to long-distance swimming, 180 kilometres is more than a typical CycloSportive distance for cycling enthusiasts, and when was the last time you heard someone say it s only a marathon ? Can you imagine putting them all together? Can you imagine the commitment, the challenges, the constant discomfort; pain, suffering and the effect on loved ones? That s what makes this a real challenge to us normal folk.
But more than that
Those words challenge, pain, discomfort, suffering, effect on loved ones - this is the world also of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a fatal, debilitating muscle-wasting disorder, which robs young children of their muscles, and ultimately thei